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Deputies busy with domestic violence calls during holidays

Published: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 7:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, December 28, 2012 at 10:51 p.m.

The holidays are a joyous time for many, but for others, they can fuel stress and turn violent.

Between Dec. 20 and Friday, Volusia County sheriff's deputies responded to at least 30 domestic violence/battery calls around the county, a great majority of them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, records show.

One of the most violent cases occurred late Thursday afternoon, when deputies said a man — who they say was drunk — stabbed his wife at least eight times in their Deltona residence.

While no statistics were available Friday concerning domestic violence during the holidays, sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said anecdotally, deputies certainly see their share of such turmoil during this time of the year.

"We know that the holidays cause certain stressors," Davidson said. "The holidays can cause family stressors for a variety of reasons."

Both Davidson and Cheryl Fuller — director of the Volusia-Flagler Domestic Violence Council -- said the holiday season usually exacerbates an already troubled situation in a home.

Fuller said families that are used to violent behavior do not usually make an exception during the holidays.

She said the shelter in Daytona Beach, for example, was full on Christmas night, mostly with women and children.

On Christmas Day, deputies responded to a residence near DeLand where a grandmother was accused of hitting her grandson with a broom. The pair bickered over a TV show that the 67-year-old woman wanted to watch — that she always watched — on Christmas, an incident report shows.

The woman was the one who initially called 9-1-1 because she said her grandson was verbally abusive toward her. She told deputies that she hit him on the arm with a broom because she could no longer take his insults, the report says. The deputies ended up giving the 22-year-old grandson a domestic violence packet, the report shows.

In another case on Dec. 22 near New Smyrna Beach, a couple argued over who would drink the last beer in the refrigerator, records show. One of the individuals kicked the other one in the ribs while the victim was on the ground, records show.

Another man threatened to shoot his wife with a rifle on Dec. 26 near DeLand and she was forced to bolt from their trailer, records show. Deputies surrounded the house, arrested the husband — who was intoxicated — and charged him with aggravated assault, records show.

Fuller of the Domestic Violence Council said the stress and alcoholic drinks that come with the holidays can make an already bad situation even worse for families with a history of violence.

"When we talk to people who come to the shelter and ask them what they remember about Christmas, they say that their holidays were always violent," Fuller said.

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